Taxpayer Group Fights Property Tax Increase Referenda March 15

View as PDF Chicago – Government bureaucrats in Westchester, Franklin Park, and Summit have placed referenda on the March 15, 2016 ballot for voters to approve Home Rule status for these villages. According to Taxpayers United of America (TUA), Home Rule means higher taxes.
“For decades, I’ve called it ‘Home Ruin,’” said Jim Tobin, president of TUA. “Why would any taxpayer want to give up their right to vote on property tax increases?”
“Home Rule always means higher taxes. Home Rule status in Illinois means that the cap limiting the amount that bureaucrats can increase property taxes is removed. It gives bureaucrats a blank check to do what they wish with your tax dollars – and without a vote. How many government bureaucrats would you trust with a blank check bearing your signature?”
“Home Rule also gives local government authority to tax nearly any product or service they want. What they don’t tell you is that such taxation drives consumers to neighboring communities, where the taxes on products and services are lower.”
“And if high taxation isn’t enough, Home Rule is used extensively to add regulations, fees, and licensing that create even more red tape for business and entrepreneurs,” said Tobin.
“We are helping taxpayers in each of these communities by revealing the truth about home rule and how damaging it is. We are working with local activists and organizations to educate voters on Home Rule and the ramifications of its implementation.”
Voters and taxpayers in Roselle SD 12 are also facing a property tax increase referendum on the ballot for the March 15, 2016 primary, costing roughly $500 every year in increased property taxes for homes valued at $250,000.
“These bureaucrats are seeking an additional $1.5 million of taxpayer funds annually for a school district totaling about 725 students. They have failed to properly account for taxpayers’ dollars, as the district is already facing a budget shortfall of $844,000 for the 2016-17 school year, and we know that 80% of these funds are typically diverted to pay for government employee salaries and benefits,” said Tobin.
“Residents of Roselle cannot afford these proposed property tax hikes, as the area’s unemployment rate is 6% with only a .85% job growth rate. Taxpayers should not be forced to take a $500 pay cut to continue business as usual in the district. Cuts must be made, consolidation must be pursued, and the government bureaucrats need to look over their options again before squeezing more taxpayers for loot, driving more homeowners out of the area by hiking their already ridiculously costly property taxes.”
You can download PDFs of our ‘Vote No’ flyers for printing and distribution below.

“Government needs to live within its means and cut spending when tax revenue declines. 80% of Home Rule and other local taxes go to pay for government employees’ salaries and their benefits. By adding new taxes, government bureaucrats ensure their own high pay and lavish pensions.”
“Illinois currently has more than 12,154 annual state pensions totaling more than $100,000 each and more than 85,893 government pensions totaling more than $50,000 annually. It is economically disastrous and mathematically impossible to raise enough taxes to sustain the defunct state pension system, and yet every unit of government continues to try to do while the state has more than $111 billion in unfunded government pension liabilities and an unpaid bill backlog of more than $6 billion,” said Tobin.
“Illinois has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, the state is losing taxpayers by staggering rates every year, and you have to wonder how many people could have stayed in their homes if the property taxes weren’t so high – the second highest property taxes in the country.”
“TUA has defeated 417 local tax increase referenda since 1977. We urge voters in these four communities to tell bureaucrats that they have had enough of government leeching off of their livelihood. These tax increases are not for the benefit of the many, but the politically-connected and government employee class. This comes at the expense of taxpayers, who cannot afford such tax increases, so we urge votes to Vote No.”
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

DISCLAIMER

Taxpayers United Of America: (TUA). is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(4) taxpayer advocacy group. Founded June 27, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois by activist and economist Jim Tobin, TUA works on behalf of taxpayers to reduce local, state, and federal taxes. In the past forty years, TUA has saved taxpayers more than $200 billion n taxes and has become one of the largest taxpayer organizations in America. Check All posts.
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